Database Develop

Why ADW?

Just curious, why does everyone seem to lean towards ADW vs. Launcher Pro? Launcher Pro just seems to run so much smoother on the Nexus I was wondering why people would prefer ADW.

I prefer ADW because it runs so much smoother for me.
Plus it has one feature I cannot live without now. The slide up/down gestures. I normally have the Status Bar hidden, so I can't slide down on it to get the notification tray. Now I can just slide down anywhere on the screen to pull down the tray.

Zenoran said:
Just curious, why does everyone seem to lean towards ADW vs. Launcher Pro? Launcher Pro just seems to run so much smoother on the Nexus I was wondering why people would prefer ADW.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 10chars

I use Launcher Pro as well. Seems a good amount of people use ADW because its the default launcher in CM. (cyanogen choose it because its open source and LP isnt)

Also the fact that it is open source is a reason I like it too. Not because of some philosophy, but because there are already a number of different developers contributing to it. And I know that if Anderweb ever stops development on it, someone else can continue. It gives me hope that it will be a very long lasting launcher.

Why do some people like red cars? or Ford over GM? (notice how I Americanized that <, I was going to say Renault but I don't suppose our US/foreign friends would have understood)....
It's just personal preference, neither is right or wrong, it just is.

Clarkster said:
I prefer ADW because it runs so much smoother for me.
Plus it has one feature I cannot live without now. The slide up/down gestures. I normally have the Status Bar hidden, so I can't slide down on it to get the notification tray. Now I can just slide down anywhere on the screen to pull down the tray.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. Also, the option to stretch the homescreen to 8x8. I'm going with 4x6 right now; last I used it, Launcher Pro only offered up to 4x5.

Smooth-wise, both LP and ADW are similar on my Nexus One Stock Froyo. I can't see LP much smoother than ADW.
I am used to ADW's "pull up home button to show hidden app dock". I put taskpanel and Mobile setting things there which I can easily access but don't wanna be visible all the time. The swipe left/right dock in launcher pro is unnatural to me.
On the other hand, I compared both launchers (briefly) on battery usage and it looked like with launcher pro my battery was going away faster. That was a few weeks ago and several updates had been made so I can't tell now.

ADW is open source so that may be a deciding factor. Also resizing widgets is great and a feature that was missing since the last time I used LauncherPro.

I have LauncherPro as well and have to say I am quite impressed with it. The main reason I have it is to save my nexus one from screen burn by the notification bar... but its speed and stability sure dont hurt either

ap3604 said:
I have LauncherPro as well and have to say I am quite impressed with it. The main reason I have it is to save my nexus one from screen burn by the notification bar... but its speed and stability sure dont hurt either
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as far as i know, LCD and AMOLED screens does not suffer from screen burn... weird you said that

drbuns said:
ADW is open source so that may be a deciding factor. Also resizing widgets is great and a feature that was missing since the last time I used LauncherPro.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my experience setting different sizes for a widget just caused it to break its display (text overflowing or items clipped off). It seems the only reason the feature exists is because ADW allows you to setup different amounts of rows/columns of icons, and since widgets work by taking up certain amount of icon spaces they had to also then add the option to say how much icons it should take up to end up looking normal. (Confusing, huh?)
This is actually what caused me to switch away from ADW to LauncherPro. They seem very similar, but ADW was going down the path of configuration hell where they introduce confusing options that cause features to break and need even more confusing options.
The real thing is, none of those options seem to improve anything for me, but they started getting in my way. Every time I added a widget ADW then asked me to specify how it should be sized. UGH!
All I really want is the stock launcher with smooth scrolling. These launchers seem to start off just being that but slowly grow into feature-creep beasts.

LauncherPro is faster than ADW. fact.
LauncherPro's app drawer (3D) is MUCH faster and smoother than ADW's. fact.
LaucherPro has more customization to the bottom 5 buttons than ADW. fact.
ADW is built into CM5.x, LauncherPro isn't. That's about the only drawback, and a weird one.

I am also a fan of LP, and i also found it to be a tad smoother and better responsive. imho

I just tried out ADW launcher for a bit instead of my default LauncherPro and have to say whike it seems like a great launcher as well there's two things the DarkDVR covered that I havr to agree with:
1. LauncherPro seems faster to me.
2. I LOVE how you can customize shortcuts on the botton of your screen. Im an extreme minimalist and the only things I want on my homescreen is the appdrawer button with quicksettings to the left of it and my browser to the right. Nothing else. With ADW you can't customize and are stuck with the phone and stock broswer on you homescreen.
Two things that I like better about ADW though:
1. The ability to swipe down while the notification bar is hidden to see it. Not a huge deal since I can just press menu while using LauncherPro to have the notification bar pop up and then pull it down.
2. When rotating your phone to landscape your wallpaper picture stays nice. In LauncherPro it messes your wallpaper photo will only show the top of the wallpaper that you usually can see fully while in portrait.

ap3604 said:
With ADW you can't customize and are stuck with the phone and stock broswer on you homescreen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's wrong, just drag and drop any icon you want onto the shortcut spots on the bottom of the screen. And if you want 4 down there you can turn on the extra spots in the settings. Plus if you press and slide up on the 'all apps' button you get another bar to drop more icons on to, unlimited in size as it scrolls left and right.

I've used LauncherPro for 2 or so weeks, then ADW for the last 2 or so weeks...
ADW FC's a *lot* more, particularly during configuration (adding/removing apps or widgets, wallpaper, etc) but also at weird random other times, like 5-10s after launching an app.. Happens perhaps 1-3 times a day for me.
ADW squeezing more into the homescreen is nice.. I actually like that I can have 5x5 on the homescreen, although I don't think I'd want more.. And the Widget config does get more confusing along with it, but it's nice that 4x4 widgets can fill the whole screen even set 5x5.
I don't use the gesture options.. Too finicky, I usually wind up moving the screen sideways or launching an app.
ADW can uninstall a program directly from the app drawer.. Drag it out, drag it to the trash, hover.. Don't recall LP being able to do that.
LauncherPro is smoother and I don't recall it ever FC'ing on me.. I think one can adjust the rows/columns available, but IIRC the Widgets then fit kinda weird on the screen, and of course had less visible space and in some cases were cropped weird because they were smaller than they should be. Don't remember, I'll have to try it out again.
People use LP's 3d app drawer? I hate it.. It wastes like 30% of the screen... Different strokes..
Cons for both: Live Wallpaper. I don't use this much, sometimes I fire it up before I'm showing off the phone.. but both launchers slow WAY down with LW going. Less than the default Nexus homescreen.
I'll try LauncherPro again.. It's had a few version updates I just wish it were possible to sync all of the settings, vs having to set each launcher up.

Clarkster said:
That's wrong, just drag and drop any icon you want onto the shortcut spots on the bottom of the screen. And if you want 4 down there you can turn on the extra spots in the settings. Plus if you press and slide up on the 'all apps' button you get another bar to drop more icons on to, unlimited in size as it scrolls left and right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But can you pick any icon for the shortcuts?

DarkDvr said:
But can you pick any icon for the shortcuts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you can't pick any icon you like unless you have one of those other icon customization programs. I was just responding to the claim that you can never change it from phone and browser.

khaytsus said:
People use LP's 3d app drawer? I hate it.. It wastes like 30% of the screen... Different strokes..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, but it's just such a kick in the balls for google - private developers made the same 3D app drawer, but it's like 500% more efficient. Although... as google said on IO conf, that's exactly what they want from the community.. to replace standard android components with more efficient, customizable stuff.
Something you never gonna hear from apple. Something that will ultimately have Android ruling over the world with an iron fist of freedom and customization

Now that we have root can we remove the home bar at bottom?

The only thing I dislike about the blur interface is the bottom stuff switching to adore me what screen I'm on. Any way to disable, or decrease the time it shows?

I know this sounds stupid but just to mention that if you hit a blank area on the screen it will start the minimizing animation of the bar immediately instead of waiting for it to time out.

Quite honestly you should try a different launcher. I like ADW.Launcher. Many others around like Launcher Pro. You will find much more customization and features with those Launchers.
The only "problem" I have found is that some of the blur widgets don't play nice with ADW. ie, If I use any of the Blur widgets, I can't resize them. However, I don't really like any of the blur widgets and don't use them.

I've used all those launchers. Open home, dxtop, launcher pro, adw. I actually like the original on this phone except for that home screen bar thing.

I don't see a problem with blur now that i got used to it. Its great. If you hit the wrong thing and the switch bar comes up you have to wait a little over a second? Don't be. Impatient.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

AaronsDarts said:
I don't see a problem with blur now that i got used to it. Its great. If you hit the wrong thing and the switch bar comes up you have to wait a little over a second? Don't be. Impatient.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kind of defeats the purpose of buying 1ghz phones doesn't it?
Let's just go back to 200 Mhz Arm processors and be patient
Battery will last longer I'm sure.

LiveHome - new(?) home launcher

So, I am a fan of ADW and LauncherPro. Both have some really cool features. I've always had a tough time deciding between the two, and really wished there was a best of both worlds. Then I stumbled across Live Home and viola! Has 5 desktop transitions: Default, Cube (like GDE), Book (like turning a page), Stretch, Rotate (kind of like a 2D sheet you flip over to next page). Also features a Task Manager, Icon Manager (changes apps in drawer too(!), both Icon pack and Gallery supported), Themeable (panda/ahome/open home), lots of Wallpapers, and you are supposed to be able to drag apks from SD card to the Desktop. Only thing I was unhappy with, was the abundance of ads. But, since it is a free app, you really can't complain too much. Luckily Jcase's Adblocker:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=666328 works great. Anyway, you can check it out here:
http://www.androidpit.com/en/android/market/apps/app/com.mo.android.livehome/LiveHome

I'll give it a shot, downloading now.

So just checking back in after using LiveHome for awhile. I have to say, I can not personally recommend this anymore. Had way too many issues with the icon management. I would change the icons and/or hide the ones I don't need on a regular basis and LiveHome would pick and choose when it wanted to follow these instructions. It would often hide apps that I wanted or randomly change the icon back to normal in the app drawer even though it might be changed in the settings. I'm sad about this as I really liked being able to change my icons easily and the book page turning home transition. Ah well, at least it was free...

It's not a bad app. No problems with the icons. Only dilemma I have is use live wallpaper or transistons cause you can't use both. When it comes this I guess it is to each their own.

Yea, I've found that the newer version: 1.0.3 is a little more stable for me. I really like the book transition and changing the app drawer icons, now...if only it were stable like ADW or Launcherpro - it'd be a winner for sure.

if it was more stable it would not be free lol. Awsome app never the less

Minimalist, yet informative and functional, Zen ???

I want to reduce the number of screen elements to the bare minimum that will still allow me to see at a glance the information I need yet still allow me quick and easy assess to the phone's functions and applications. I've never been one for clutter either at my desk, in my home or even my dress. My phone might as well reflex my taste and go minimalist too.
This is a work in progress and I would like to hear what you think of my efforts so far and your ideas on how I can improve upon it while maintaining my goal of keeping the phone informative and functional.
__
__
Lock screen || Right | Home | Left || Folders​
What you don't see in the screenshots are the invisible app buttons made possible by Transparent Launcher or the unlabelled SiMi Folder Widgets both of which hide away those items which I do not want advertised. I'm debating whether to remove the labels from the three visible folder widgets. Maybe only I will know where each function is but I'm the only user of the phone anyway.
Also not evident visually is LauncherPro's ability to assign dual functions, assessed by either a tap or a swipe, to each of the 15 dock items. The 30 apps that I can launch this way serve the vast majority of my needs. Each dock item shares closely related tasks like Dialer (tap) and Call-Log (swipe), SMS and Instant-Messenger, or App Market and QR Code Scanner. However, I'm thinking about reducing the number of docks from 3 sets of five to just 1 set, dumping quick assess to some of the least used apps and transferring the difference to Transparent Launcher widgets.
I'm also taking advantage of the fact that most information widgets also act as app launchers. In this case tapping the SiMi Clock Widget will launch the Alarm Clock, tapping the header of LauncherPro's Agenda widget launches the Calendar and tapping the 2 line appointment reminder (Calendr) also launches the Calendar but set to the agenda view instead of the calendar view.
I'm hoping that the developer of SiMi Clock Widget will implement a user request I second. In the attached screen shots, I would love to remove the weather and battery from the center home screen to the screen on it's right where they would replace the redundant clock I have there now.
Below is an AppBrain linked list of the theme related apps I using:
Lock screen >> SiMi Clock Widget || Calendr || WidgetLocker Lockscreen
Home >> SiMi Clock Widget || Calendr || LauncherPro || Dreamlyfe.mini Text Dock Icons
Right >> LauncherPro's Calendar/Agenda widget || Dreamlyfe.mini Text Dock Icons
Left/Folders >> SiMi Clock Widget || SiMi Folder Widgets || Transparent Launcher || Dreamlyfe.mini Text Dock Icons
The lock screen is meant to convey the most basic information I might need on the run. Turn of the screen and there is the time and my next appointment.
The home screen is all about the phone as a phone, a communication and location device. The right screen is for the phone as a computer. Dictionaries and wiki's, social networks, games and tools live here along with some app maintenance functions.
Unfortunately, the left screen is a bit schizophrenic right now. It was originally meant to be solely about multimedia with simple controls for controlling music, podcasts and audiobooks, however I found myself opening the calendar/agenda app more often than I had anticipated and had to give-in and place the widget on a screen. I wanted to keep the phone as fun and free as possible but had to concede to the commitments of life. I need to morph this screen into a Work/Finance area and either banish the multimedia functions to a fourth screen, add them as invisible apps somewhere or create another folder on the right screen. None of those options are appealing.
I'm also looking for a replacement for LauncherPro's Calendar/Agenda widget. I want something that will lay the text of a scrolling agenda list straight over the wallpaper. Basically something like the LauncherPro widget but without the dark grey backgrounds and hopefully more compact. I haven't found anything suitable yet so I might have to bite the bullet and learn how to re-skin the LauncherPro widget myself.
There it is. I like the direction it going. I think it has potential. Any suggestions?

ipottinger said:
I'm also looking for a replacement for LauncherPro's Calendar/Agenda widget. I want something that will lay the text of a scrolling agenda list straight over the wallpaper. Basically something like the LauncherPro widget but without the dark grey backgrounds and hopefully more compact. I haven't found anything suitable yet so I might have to bite the bullet and learn how to re-skin the LauncherPro widget myself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android Agenda Widget is good for this. The look is very customisable, has a transparency option, and you can also have gtasks showing on the same scrollable widget. Very nice, and free.

I suggest using Quickdesk as an alternative to having folders or anything like that. Essentially, double tapping the home button brings up an extra homescreen (can be from inside an app, too) so you can quickly get to a range of apps and widgets.
I have two homescreens - one for clock/weather/calendar/controls and one for my generic tools (Tweetdeck, Market, Maps, etc). Quickdesk gets me to a bunch of specialist applications, and the app drawer gets me to the rest.

{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Updated my setup. Now I'm using Go Launcher Ex instead of Launcher Pro. To keep things even more minimalist, I have a single dock icon which takes me to Quick Desk when tapped. I set my home button to Quick Desk as well, so I can easily switch between my apps when I'm not on my home screen. Quick Desk is an amazing multitasking app which basically gives you an extra home screen, where you can add apps and even widgets for easy access. The best thing about it is that, as I mentioned before, you can set this app as your default home button.
This is my setup. I don't know if it will be of any use for you since everyone has their own personal preferences and needs. Maybe mines will give you a different perspective or spark some new ideas (or maybe not).
I only use 1 home screen with Go Launcher Ex and with my status bar hidden. I have never seen the need to have multiple home screens. I tried to keep everything as efficient and minimal as possible while still maintaining some degree of aesthetics. Whenever I'm bored with my wallpaper, I could always swap the painting with another in Photoshop to give it a new look. Due to this, I don't need to change the layout of my home screen, move widgets around, or switch icons because the layout of my wallpaper is consistent. I like it this way. The rest of my widget and dock details are down below.
Home Screen
- swiping up on my home screen opens the app drawer
- swiping down on my home screen launches Quick Settings
Widgets
Android Agenda Widget
- tapping on individual calendar events opens its events details
- tapping on the bottom right corner of the widget opens its "uber" menu where you can add events, change settings, or view your whole calendar
This is a great widget in my opinion. It can sync to a lot of third party calendar and task apps such as Astrid. It has a lot of customization options as well. It's scrollable too if it's a feature that you need in a calendar widget.
Simi Clock
- tapping on the left side of the widget launches Clock
- tapping on the middle of the widget opens its quick 5 app menu
- tapping on the right side of the widget launches Genie/News and Weather
Simi Clock has all the daily info that I need in one small package including time, date, weather, battery, and it can launch apps.
Dock icons
Apps
- tapping launches Quick Desk containing my most used apps and widgets
- while in Quick Desk, tapping on the "Multimedia" icon in the top right opens Apps Organizer shortcut that contains a folder of my 20 most used multimedia apps (music, video, photo, games)
- while in Quick Desk, tapping on the "Misc" icon in the top right opens Apps Organizer shortcut that contains a folder of 20 utility apps that I occasionally use
- swiping up on apps dock icon opens notifications (in Launcher Pro and Go Launcher Ex you can assign dual functions to your dock icons for tapping and swiping)
I didn't want any scrolling to make things more efficient. That's why I only kept it down to 20 apps in a folder, which is the most you can fit on the screen at one time, or at least on my Captivate for that matter.

@raven369 you place the picture in the frame on the wallpaper? Or do you use a picture frame widget? Like your layout

Tsjoklat said:
@raven369 you place the picture in the frame on the wallpaper? Or do you use a picture frame widget? Like your layout
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. It's actually a part of the wallpaper that I put together and not a picture frame widget. I couldn't find any widgets with any good looking frames so I just Photoshopped it into my wallpaper.

Boonja said:
Android Agenda Widget is good for this. The look is very customisable, has a transparency option, and you can also have gtasks showing on the same scrollable widget. Very nice, and free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Boonja for the suggestion.
I did find Pure Calendar widget but have noticed a few rendering glitches with it. Sometimes the agenda items don't appear at all. I'll give Android Agenda Widget a try.

PalaNIN said:
I suggest using Quickdesk as an alternative to having folders or anything like that. Essentially, double tapping the home button brings up an extra homescreen (can be from inside an app, too) so you can quickly get to a range of apps and widgets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That looks very interesting. My concern though is that according to it description it might not work with LauncherPro. I'll give it a try and see if it works and how it feels. Thanks for the suggestion.

@raven369 I love your icons. I think they're perfect for me. Care to share them?

raven369 said:
This is my setup. ... Maybe mines will give you a different perspective or spark some new ideas (or maybe not).
I only use 1 home screen with Launcher Pro and with my status bar hidden. I have never seen the need to have multiple home screens. I tried to keep everything as efficient and minimal as possible while still maintaining some degree of aesthetics. Whenever I'm bored with my wallpaper, I could always swap the painting with another in Photoshop to give it a new look. Due to this, I don't need to change the layout of my home screen, move widgets around, or switch icons because the layout of my wallpaper is consistent. I like it this way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, nice and clean. And just one screen too. You've set the bar quite high.
raven369 said:
Android Agenda Widget
- tapping on individual calendar events opens its events details
- tapping on the bottom right corner of the widget opens its "uber" menu where you can add events, change settings, or view your whole calendar
This is a great widget in my opinion. It can sync to a lot of third party calendar and task apps such as Astrid. It has a lot of customization options as well. It's scrollable too if it's a feature that you need in a calendar widget.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This looks very promising. I'll definitely try this. Thanks for point it out!
raven369 said:
Simi Clock
- tapping on the left side of the widget launches Clock
- tapping on the middle of the widget opens its quick 5 app menu
- tapping on the right side of the widget launches Genie/News and Weather
Simi Clock has all the daily info that I need in one small package including time, date, weather, battery, and it can launch apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should try and take move advantage of Simi Clock app launching ability. I don't know why I've ignore it till now.
raven369 said:
Favs
- tapping opens Apps Organizer shortcut that contains a folder of my 20 most used utility apps
- swiping up opens Apps Organizer shortcut that contains a folder of my 20 most used multimedia apps (music, video, photo, games)
I didn't want any scrolling to make things more efficient. That's why I only kept it down to 20 apps in a folder, which is the most you can fit on the screen at one time, or at least on my Captivate for that matter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This sounds complicated. The description mentions labels which I've not heard of before. I'm fairly new to all this. I got my Samsung Vibrant just a couple of months ago and only worked up the nerve to start mod'ing it a few weeks ago. I think this app will take some thought before I could effectively utilize it.
You certainly have given me quite a bit to think about. I can see now that there is still plenty of room even on a single screen to have all the info and functionality I want. It might take me awhile to get there but at least now I now how far I could possible go. Thanks!

ipottinger said:
This sounds complicated. The description mentions labels which I've not heard of before. I'm fairly new to all this. I got my Samsung Vibrant just a couple of months ago and only worked up the nerve to start mod'ing it a few weeks ago. I think this app will take some thought before I could effectively utilize it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apps Organizer is actually a very easy app to use. It can be downloaded in the market plus it's free. I can teach you how to use it.
Once you open the app you have 2 categories: Apps and Labels. The Apps category pretty much just lists all of your apps. If you go to the Labels category you can create labels which are essentially folders. Just use the menu key on your phone to create a "New Label." Once you've created your new label hold/long press it and click on "Select Apps." From there just check off all the apps you want in the label. You can also rename your label the same way by long pressing it and clicking on "Rename."
Now if you go back to your dock on your home screen you can create an Apps Organizer shortcut. Just long press on your dock, select "Change Shortcut," select Apps Organizer, and then choose the label you want as the shortcut. If you don't like the icon just long press it on your dock and select "Change Icon." I'm sure you know how to put shortcuts on your dock already so this paragraph may be redundant information to you.

Can you save and upload your settings for Android Agenda Widget. I just can't get it to look like yours no matter what I do :/

So glad I stumbled on this thread - the design goals in the OP is exactly what I am going for, and I was tired of going thru tons and tons of pages in the various "Post your homescreens" threads here on XDA and AndroidForums to gain inspiration. Now hopefully I can just come here instead!
raven369 said:
Apps Organizer is actually a very easy app to use. It can be downloaded in the market plus it's free. I can teach you how to use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it any different than FolderOrganizer? I use this and i think it is excellent.
Also, I find that the minimalistic text widget to be awesome. It is super customizable and has tasker integration, which is way cool.

|flyte| said:
Is it any different than FolderOrganizer? I use this and i think it is excellent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apps Organizer is actually made by the same developer as Folder Organizer. Folder Organizer is more feature heavy. Apps Organizer can only organize apps while Folder Organizer can organize apps, bookmarks, contacts and also place apps in your notification bar as well. However, Folder Organizer isn't free and the lite version disables the majority of the features.
Fidyyuan said:
Can you save and upload your settings for Android Agenda Widget. I just can't get it to look like yours no matter what I do :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What phone do you own? I'm reluctant to upload my settings file because I don't know if mine will be compatible with yours if we use different phones and calendars. i just don't want to end up mucking your phone.
Have you tried these settings?
Code:
Appearance -> Themes -> "Minimalist" or "Minimal with date" (Sorry, I don't remember which theme I exactly used but I'm sure it was one of these)
Row Style -> inline
Row Settings -> Row Background -> off
Date Row Settings -> Day Row Background -> solid no pad
Date Row Color AND Date Row Transparency -> set everything to transparent
Text & Font Settings -> Text Highlights -> everything off
Bold the Date -> on
Advanced -> leave everything off for simple and more complicated settings
Toggle Skin Elements -> on
Use Frankenstein -> off
Customize Skin Colors -> Skin Color Customization -> on
Widget Color -> set Background Tint to black while everything else to transparent
Buttons & Toolbars -> I had toolbars turned off. I had right button #2 turned on with uber button action and its style all transparent.
This should give you a layout similar to mine. If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask.

I use calendr for my calendar widget. It only shows one event at a time. Also, I use a lot of minimalistic text widget.
A knew one just dropped a few days ago, good for organizing apps on your homescreen: circlelauncher
pretty sharp looking too, you'll need your own icon though.

To me, any minimal calendar widget that doesn't display the location of the upcoming event is flawed. I also use Calendr, but I can't stand that I have to click on it to see the location of my next meeting.

This calendar widget and setting is exactly what I have been looking for. Thanks.
It even has tasks that sync to google incorporated into the theme. Perfect and minimal.
One thing, what setting kills the color of the calendar as a bullet? I want the totally clear look, no color.

raven369 said:
I posted the icons as an attachment. Enjoy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing the icons. Are there more? I'll like to see web and profile/contacts if possible.

sorry a question. Where did you get the text icons for the SiMi folder widget (reference, social, games). I like your layout very much.
____
Edit - figure it out thanks
Thanks

I have almost the same setup, but I use SiMi folder instead of Folder Organizer and I use Phantom Music Control for the music widget in QD. @raven369 why did you go with Go Launcher?

[MOD][GUIDE] Make The Hottest Android HomeScreens Yourself

Got this post yesterday on Google+. so i thought it'd be great to share with you guys this article gonna blow up your android
How to make the Naturally Android home screen
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
With its subdued simplicity, Naturally Android won over plenty of fans -- and won its designer a nice new Nexus 7 tablet. So how's it made?
Creator Joe Rochinski said his main goal was to create something that was both simple and visually striking.
"I've never liked the look of home screens packed full of widgets and mismatched icons," Rochinski says. "There's an app drawer to house all your app shortcuts, so let's leave them in there!"
Rochinski found his background on DeviantArt.com. He then used an app called Wallpaper Wizardii to scale and position it just the way he wanted.
Nova Launcher Prime, a popular custom Android launcher, allowed Rochinski to eliminate extra home screen panels and also remove the separator line between the Favorites Tray and the rest of the screen. Nova also made it easy for him to swap out the icons to his own custom creations.
Speaking of those icons, Rochinski relied on an app called Simple Text to build them along with his custom app drawer button. He used Minimalistic Text, meanwhile, to make the clock and weather widgets.
"You don't need to be an expert programmer to get a similar look on your own phone," Rochinski says. "I hope this theme will inspire others to try their hand at their own home screen and make some more beautiful designs where less is more."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to make The Explorer home screen
Greg Wright's Explorer home screen got lots of attention, and for good reason. Wright's creation is actually even cooler than you might realize, as many of the visual elements are interactive: Tapping the compass opens Google Now; tapping the caliper toggles the notification bar; tapping the lion at the bottom of the map opens a folder of frequent apps; and tapping the date at the top opens the system clock. The paper scroll at the bottom-left, meanwhile, shows a dynamic representation of the phone's current battery level.
Like the last setup, Wright's home screen uses Nova Launcher Prime to accomplish some of its magic. The wallpaper comes from Wallbase.cc; the widgets for the date, time, and battery level were all made using the Ultimate Custom Widget (UCCW) application along with a font called FoglihtenNo06 (Google it and you'll find several sites offering free downloads.
As for the interactive functions, Wright used Nova Launcher to create shortcuts on the spots he wanted and then set their icons to be blank images. That makes it seem like you're tapping the actual map instead of a regular app shortcut.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to make the Organizus Optimus home screen
Like Amirul Farhan's eye-catching creation? You aren't alone.
Farhan built the setup using Apex Launcher, an alternative to Nova with many similar features (either app could really work for any of these configurations). Within the launcher's settings, he set the home screen grid to 9x5 and four panels.
He then created a custom set of wallpapers, one for each panel. He uses an app called MultiPicture Live Wallpaper in order to have each panel display a different background.
That's where things get a little more complicated. I'll let Farhan explain it:
Start on the first homescreen. Using Apex action, place an app drawer shortcut on the square icon (at picture's bottom right corner).
Next, using Apex action as well, place the shortcut to screen 2, screen 3, and screen 4 on the star icon, ribbon icon, and the conversation bubble icon, respectively. Repeat this step on screen 2, screen 3, and screen 4.
This is the tricky part: hiding the icon we placed earlier to make it blend with the wallpaper. You need a blank icon, easily downloadable from the Internet. Note that although you cannot see this icon in gallery, it's there. Long-press the shortcuts placed earlier, and replace the icons with the blank icon.
Got all that? Good. From there, Farhan used a series of widgets and icons to accomplish his effects. They include:
• Minimalistic Text Widget with a font called Billabong for the titles at the top of each panel.
• Eye in Sky Weather for the forecast on the "Weather and Status" screen and Widgetsoid for the power bar at the bottom of that panel.
• Icons from Minimal MIUI Go Apex Theme for the shortcuts to the apps on the "Leisure" screen and Minimal Reader for the headlines at the bottom of that panel.
• Brilliant Quotes for the rotating quotes at the bottom of the "Work and Productivity" panel.
• Android Pro Widgets for the social widgets on the "Social Circle" panel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to make the Ice Cream Dream home screen
Tony Zhang's Ice Cream Dream home screen takes its inspiration from the Android 4.x-level People app interface.
Zhang's made it easy to get the lowdown on his setup: Just check out the page he created at MyColorScreen.com for the full scoop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to make the Robot Control home screen
Tim Alvarez's Robot Control configuration was the most popular of all the designs featured in this month's challenge. To make it, Alvarez says he started with a background from DeviantArt.com, which he resized and cropped down in Photoshop to fit his device's screen. He also modified the image to add in some elements and erased parts of it to make room for active widgets.
The Calendar, Media, Apps, and Files icons are all built into the wallpaper; Alvarez used transparent icons to add invisible shortcuts on top of those areas.
He used Ultimate Custom Widget (UCCW) to create the clock/date widget, the battery percentage and ring widget, and the bottom widget with the weather, missed calls, missed texts, and current location.
For the music player, Alvarez used a version of Phantom Music Control with his own custom icon modifications. He also made his own custom icons for the dock at the bottom of the screen.
Oh yeah -- and there are some custom animations and sound effects involved, too. You can see 'em in action on Alvarez's YouTube channel.
Lucky for you, Mr. A is willing to share his efforts. You can download a zip file with all the aforementioned elements on Dropbox.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to make The Heisenberg home screen
If you're a fan of Breaking Bad, there's a good chance you're a fan of Jeff K's Heisenberg home screen. Jeff put together a detailed how-to guide for the home screen with all the settings and info you need to recreate the look; you can find it on Dropbox.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to make the Game Master home screen
Martin Sector put a lot of thought into his Game Master Android home screen -- and he's happy to share every bit of it with you. Check out Sector's detailed how-to guide on Google+ for every last detail (he's even generously offered to answer any questions that may come up along your journey; just ping him on G+ to get in touch).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to make the City Slicker home screen
Check out Jonathan Moten's MyColorScreen.com page for all the info on this sweet-looking setup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to make the Minimalist Magic home screen
Michael Grimsley's minimalist setup uses a DeviantArt.com wallpaper along with Nova Launcher, Zooper Widget, and icons from Manup's Simple Word Icons "Clean 164" set. It also uses an icon from Devine Icons for the app drawer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to make the Currently Android home screen
Alex Miller's Currently Android home screen creation is a complex and well-thought-out effort, and you're in luck: Miller has put together a huge tutorial and even a video to help you set it up yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to make the Paper Screen home screen
To recreate Christopher Ryan's slick paper-centric setup, all you need is a custom launcher to replace icons (Nova, Apex, or most any other will do the trick; Ryan says he uses LauncherPro. The icons come from Blurry Pencil Pack; the clock is made with the Minimalistic Text widget along with a free font called Sketch_Block.
The background, meanwhile, is available here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to make the Android Me home screen
Like what you see in Jordan Hotmann's Android Me home screen? Head over to his blog for a detailed tutorial.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to make the Serenity Now home screen
Ben LeFevre says his Serenity Now setup is "deceptively simple."
The clock uses the ever-popular Ultimate Custom Widget (UCCW) app along with a custom skin. The clock has some powerful hidden functionality, too. As LeFevre explains:
It consists of two widgets -- the center one and the left one. An invisible shortcut is placed over the arrows on each widget that swaps to the other home screen. Using Apex Launcher's Accordion transition effect and turning wallpaper scrolling off, this makes the drawer look like it's expanding/closing.
The Search and Play Store icons on the left UCCW widget are UCCW hotspots (shortcuts built into UCCW). The down arrow that brings up further apps is just an image, with a Circle Launcher widget over the top.
You can find the wallpaper here and the icons here and here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EnjOy!!!:cyclops:

link to original thread http://blogs.computerworld.com/android/21359/make-hottest-android-home-screens-yourself